Threat Letter
by Umi Sagara
Summary: Shinichi has gotten the antidote and is married to Ran with two kids, named Conan and Kari. Shinichi is still the ace detective of the east, but.. what happens when his two kids are involved? [rated for murder, abduction, and language]
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer--I do not own DC. Gosho Aoyama does. >>" HOWEVER I do own this story/storyline. Even though with all the DC fics out there, it can't be completely origonal.. -shrug- ah well.

* * *

Shinichi sat on the floor, his face a bit matured. In front of him were two little kids, a little girl that looked like Ran, and a little boy who looked like Shinichi. Shinichi looked around and whispered to them, "Are you two ready for the story?" Both of them looked excited, espically the one who resembled Ran. "Yeah yeah, tell us!" they whispered back.

Shinichi glanced around again. "Well, when I was about seventeen, I was known as the best detective around. The Sherlock Holmes of the 21st century. Everyone knew the name of the great high school detective, Shinichi Kudou. In fact, they even called me in on cases, but there was one criminal who always eluded capture. His name was Kaitou 1412. He was a world-renound thief, and would always announce when, where, and what he would steal."  
"Well, if he told them, why were they never there to catch him?" little-Shinichi said.  
"Obviously because he told them in riddles or something, Conan," little-Ran replied. "Right, dad?"

Shinichi nodded. "Yeah. Your mom's dad was the clumsiest excuse for a detective, and I-"

"I HEARD THAT, SHINICHI!" Shinichi froze at the sound of a door closing. Shinichi turned around slowly. "R-Ran. You're back early. I thought you went shopping."  
"I did. Conan, Kari, would you like mommy to show you a new karate move?"  
"Yes," Conan replied enthusiastically.  
"I'd rather keep listening to dad's story," Kari said, not very interested.

Conan's face fell a bit when Ran said she would show them one later, after Shinichi set up a punching bag or something similar to one. "Oh, wow, look at the time! 22:00 already! (10 pm) You two should get to bed. After all, we don't want mom mad at dad for failing to put you two to bed." Both of them kept up that they wanted to stay up, but in the end, Shinichi wound up putting them to sleep. He went in the Kitchen and stood beside Ran, putting a hand on her shoulder as she took a sip of tea."

"You don't want me telling them when I was shrunk, do you?"  
"... Not particularly. They both have friends you know, and it will most probably get out. Not that you were 'back from the case overseas.' Speaking of which, you never told me how you got the principal and teachers to accept that..."  
"Ah.. That's a secret best kept for a good story later on. In the meantime, Ran, why do you really not want them to know?"  
"Shinichi, listening to you ramble on about your cases.. What if one of them wants to become a detective as well? And not just in any jurisdiction, but the jurisdiction of homicide and violent crimes? It's dangerous."

Shinichi looked up at the ceiling and smiled. "Yeah, but only if you don't know what you're doing. I get the feeling that Conan is going to end up more like you, and Kari is going to wind up more like me. Except for them, it might pull them apart.." His smile faded at the last part. Both of them hung around different kids. Kari was only friends with Uireru, and Conan with five other kids, Ryusake, Hiinta, Eriku, Tsuase, and Minata. At least, he thought that's what they were..

"Oh, Shinichi, mom and dad are living in the same apartment again," Ran said, snapping Shinichi out of his thoughts. Shinichi laughed a little. "That's good. She's the only one who can put up and take care of that-er..."  
"Even as an adult, Shinichi... I swear, for as much as you dislike him, you're like him in ways more than one."

Shinichi was about to reply to that when the phone rang. "Eh?" Shinichi walked over to the phone and picked it up, "Kudou private detective, Kudou speaking. Oh, Inspector Takagi, hey! How's Meguire? Did he ever move up to being chief? Eh? You're calling me over for a threat-letter? WHAT! I'll be over in a second." Shinichi hung up and threw on his jacket.

He kissed Ran on the cheek and started to run out. He stopped at the door. "Ran, don't answer unless you're positive it's me. Make sure the kids' windows are shut and locked. In fact, wake them up and have them sleep on the couch. The threat letter was faxed to the police office... Threatening us." Ran's was suprised and did immediately what she was told.

Shinichi arrived at the police office. "Hey, Meguire. Congratulations on becoming chief," Shinichi said as he quickly passed him. He rounded the corner and bounded into Takagi's office. "Inspector Takagi! Where is it?" Takagi sat at the inspector's desk and pulled out a piece of paper from the drawers. It was a typed letter. Shinichi looked at it and was shocked.

"To the ace of hearts in the deck..

Kudos to you for outwitting us.  
Answers seem to be your forte. but...  
Remember, what goes around comes around.  
It will be too late by the time you read this.

Oh, by the way...  
Respect the cards.

Come closer to setting us on death row and keep those which are yours.  
Or don't, but lose one or two.  
No one gets everything.  
Aces are no exception.  
Now, let's see if you can find your way, Ace of hearts.

The King of Spades"

Shinichi broke out in a cold sweat. "Shit! I'll explain it later," Shinichi shouted as he started sprinting back to his house, the note clutched in his hand tightly. The minute he got to the house, he groaned inwardly. 'Damnit,' he thought, panicked, 'The door had been forced inwards by.. a dent of some sort.. Bombs! Why did I leave them..? Damnit, they better not be hurt..' Shinichi approached the door, or what was left of it."RAN! RAN!" Shinichi ran in and found Ran knocked out and bound to a chair. "Ran," he shook her gently, but urgently. "Ran, where's Conan and Kari!"

'No good. She's out cold... But they're not here!'

* * *

xx Uguwaaahh...  
I'm debating whether having the story told through the point of view from Shinichi or Kari now.. What cha'll (chuu and ya'll) think? -stretch- I couldn't resist writing this fic... xP and now my fingers hurt. 


	2. Good morning Kari! How will you escape?

Disclaimer: I still don't own DC... But Man, I wish I did.. " what?

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Kari slowly opened her eyes. "ugg... where are we"  
"Oh good, you're awake. I was wondering when you were gonna wake up and tell me HOW WE'RE GONNA GET OUT OF THIS PREDICAMENT!" It was Conan's voice. upon hearing his voice, she looked around as best as she could. She and her brother were tied up back to back, and they were in a storage closet of some kind. Conan started sniffing. She ignored it.

'I've got to assess the situation' she thought to herself, looking around. 'Letsee...'

Upon looking around, she discovered that their kidnapper was practically in love with beer. She saw the cans everywhere. Wait, didn't her mom tell Conan...?

'Conan Kudou! Don't crush the can like that! You could cut yourself!'

Of course! How could she be so dense? "Ka-ka-hic-riiiii" Her brother's sniffling had turned into sobs.  
"What's wrong, Conan?" she asked, concerned for her little brother.  
"What if--what if dad can't find us?! And what if.. What if... We get killed!? WA-AH"  
"Ssh, ssh," she tried to console her brother.  
"And the rope hurts! And I have to use the bathroom"  
"Conan, it's okay! It's going to be okay." she said, soothing her brother.

This crying and few moments of trying to comfort her brother had apparently given enough time for the kidnapper to appear in the room with a mask on. "What's all this commotion," he asked roughly. Conan sniffled, the man's appearance scaring him enough to shut up.  
"Let us go!" Kari demanded.  
"You really think I'm gonna bow down to the demands of a seven-year-old?" he asked, laughing.  
"At least untie us"  
"Why, so you can execute your cleverly devised plan to escape"  
"Fine, let Conan go at least," she said, glaring at him, "'cause he's gotta go"  
"Well, let him shit himself. Who gives a damn?"

Kari glared at him. He laughed, walking out of the room. She heard him pacing outside several minutes after he had left the room. Oh well. Funny, though, he didn't look like someone who'd drink... Even with the drunken mask... She shrugged it off and reached out with her foot to one of the cans and pulled it close.

She picked it up and--DAMN! "That cheap bastard put these-these.. FOAM fake cans here!" She heard his laughing from outside the room and knocked on the door.  
"You really think I would let kids of Ace Kudou near something that could sever the ropes?"

Kari glared at the door for a moment, and then looked down at the can. If only she could get a message on it, she could slip it out the window or something.. But how would she do that? First off, they would probably be in a crowded, but overlooked part of town, as to where nothing out of the ordinary would attract attention. Secondly, like hell would he open a window. "Ah, that's it!"

Conan tried to look at his sister, definite traces of tears in his eyes.

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A/N: I know, I know, I haven't updated in a long while.. Have I? Well, I decided it was time to write a little more. It's prob'ly gonna be short the way I'm writing. :/ Well, it's 3 am (or thereabouts) and I should probably head off to bed. :P Got work tommorow. " Well, hope you enjoyed! R&R please!

Oh, and thank you, mischievous.lil.girl for your energetic and helpful review. nn I would have had writer's block forever (as in my other fics... ") if you didn't help me out here. I owe ya a lot:

And Amaya-chan, yes, I am too lazy to make a post, simply because I'm too lazy to log in... " Hey, even Sherlock admits that he is without a doubt "incurably lazy.  
(me: pssh, lazy my ass. That's probably more than I would do that late at night/early in the morning)


	3. Very Short chapter oO

Disclaimer: I still don't own DC... -sigh- still waiting for that day to come..  
(by the way, since the asterick can't be used, I'm using + instead.)

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Shinichi couldn't stand the wait anymore. But at the same time, he couldn't risk leaving Ran here by herself, either. He tried waking her up, but that didn't work. Man, she was a heavy sleeper. She wouldn't even wake up when an axe murderer was trying to kill her+... Wait... He still had his gadgets when he was Conan Edogawa. Agasa never actually took them back.. He ran upstairs and ransacked his room for the gadgets, planning on putting them aside as he found them. After methodically searching the entire room, all he found were the special glasses. 

"Crap, how many times have I told those two not to come in here," he mumbled under his breath.  
"Sh.. Shinichi?" Ran's voice was trembling as she quietly said his name. He turned around.  
"Ran?"  
"Shinichi.. Kari and Conan..."  
"I know," Shinichi said, "it'll be okay. I can find them." Or so he hoped.  
"Come on," he said to Ran, "we're going to look for them."

Ran nodded in agreement.

* * *

Anyone remember the "Mountian Villa Murder?" +insert grinning here+

A/N: I think I might try the story from Kari and Conan's Point of view for awhile. Dunno. What do you think? I know this was a short chapter, but I'm bored.. And now I have writer's block. Again. --


	4. Yet another very short chapter oO

Disclaimer: I still don't own DC... But Man, I wish I did.. " what?

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Kari kept looking around for something she could use to at least get out. Did she have the nailclippers she had been using earlier? Probably not. Conan was now sound asleep, leaning on her. "Bleagh," she muttered. Well, maybe chewing on the rope would work, although that might take awhile. Espically with her brother leaning on her..  
She could also work at the rope with her fingernails. She started to do so, hoping something might happen. If Conan would wake up, she could try to get him to pull away from her.. She moved, trying to wake him up. "Conan, Conan," she whispered in addition. He just leaned to the side, and they fell. She winced, waiting for the masked man to come back up. Silence. After about 10 minutes, she sat back up and threw her head back, hitting his. "Ow, what was that for?"  
"Good morning, little drooling monkey. Did you have a nice nap of how useless I am," she said, referring back to the comment he made when she awoke.  
"Kari!"  
"Kidding, kidding. Pull, will you?"  
"wha--?"  
"Just pull away from me. You'll see."  
"Okay, but if you get us killed-"  
"I won't." She hoped to whatever higher force was out there, God, Buddha, Ghandi, whoever, that this would work. She started scratching at the tense rope.

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a/n: Yes, another short chapter from me. Sorry guys, but I figured I'd want to get another chapter up before I start a new story. At least finish one out of five stories. xP I'm getting there. 

Anyways, I'd like to thank you all for all the reviews. Matt, I swear, I will get to your fanfics when I get the time. I'll do so the next time I have free time in computer class (which will probably be tommorow.)

Please R&R :3


	5. Enlisting Kogoro x much longer chapter

Disclaimer: I still don't own DC... But I'm still wishing I did. Kinda.

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Shinichi and Ran left their house, not wanting to take any more chances. Shinichi had to find his kids. If not for their sake or his sake, for Ran's sake. She wouldn't be able to get a grip on herself otherwise. She deserved better than this. "Ran, it's okay, I've got my cell phone-do you?"  
Ran nodded, her face not weak or tearful at all. She was being strong."Good-the kidnapper says he might call our phones and give us one clue where they are. Otherwise, I have to get rid of the evidence I have against a certain small-time crime boss. Nothing like the Syndicate."  
"Maybe.. Maybe my dad can help.."  
"That old timer...?" Shinichi said, looking at Ran.  
"Hey, he did have his moments," Ran said to Shinichi, "Besides, we will need all the help we can get, won't we?"  
Shinichi hated to admit it, but he probably wasn't going to be able to solve this one on his own. He had to get help. After all, even Holmes took the advice of Watson many times, and said it was invaluable. "Okay," he said, "we'll go get your dad."

Kogoro was trying to cook something for Eri. He had even gotten a book on it. He wanted to repair their relationship. She had left to get some groceries for awhile, and he wanted to suprise her. Eri had been working hard lately. 'The best damn lawyer around,' he thought to himself.  
Someone was knocking on the door. Kogoro hated to leave the food, since he was unsure how to cook it in the first place, but wasn't sure if it was Eri returning with her arms full. He doubted it, but went anyways. He opened the door to see "Ran! Shinichi!" He exclaimed, suprised.  
"Suprised to see us, oji-san+?" Shinichi said, smiling.  
"Hi, dad," Ran said, "miss me?"  
"Ran, yes, I did miss you. I'm cooking right now, if you want to try some. And YOU, don't call me oji-san," he said glaring at Shinichi, "you still took away all my cases."  
"Yikes, I think I'll pass on the cooking," Shinichi said half-jokingly.  
"Shinichi.. Dad, we need your help..." Kogoro stepped back and let them in.  
"If you need my help, it must be a case, right?"  
"Oji-san, I can't.. Kari.. Conan..." Shinichi's joking act had left and he was sitting on the couch, slumped over. It was his fault that Kari and Conan were missing. Ran didn't deserve this. She deserved something better.. Why did she pick him in the first place..?  
"Conan? Kari? What happened to them? Shinichi, what the hell did you do to my grandkids?!"  
"Dad, calm down.. It wasn't his fault-"  
"Yeah right, you're just covering for him-"  
"Please, oji-san.. Kogoro.. Listen to me."  
"... Fine, but this had better be good."

Shinichi explained the situation to Kogoro. Ran had to fill in some blanks where Shinichi was gone or when he couldn't finish his sentence. Kogoro listened in silence, his face turning stonier and angrier with each sentence. "So let me get this straight," Kogoro said, "because you had evidence against one person, his goonies decide to abduct your kids and hold them ransom for the papers?"  
"We're not sure..." Shinichi said, his heart heavy, "he didn't contact us for anything other than the note to lure me away.."  
"Damnit," Kogoro swore loudly.  
The door opened just as Kogoro spoke and just as the fire alarm went off. Eri walked in. "Kogoro, what have you done?!"  
"Mom!"  
"Wait, Eri, before you think this is what it isn't-" Kogoro started. Eri sighed and went into the kitchen. Shinichi, who had been hiding behind the couch as soon as she came in, popped his head back up and looked at Kogoro. "Sorry about this..."  
Kogoro shook his head as Eri came out with a pan. She walked over to Kogoro and hit him on the head as Shinichi ducked back down. "You idiot," she started, "you can't cook! Why'd you risk it to do something like that? And why are Ran and Shinichi here?"  
"Long story short," Kogoro said, "because I wanted to try cooking something good for you, because I love you, and because our grandkids have been kidnapped." Eri held the pan loosely.

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x.x Well, this chapter is much longer.. But as I'm sure you can tell, there were parts where I had writer's block, so I just typed words that made sense.  
By the way, not sure if I said this or not, but I'm making this story up as I go. I have no clue what's going to happen at the end. xP

And to Mat:  
Thank you so much for the review and suggestion! I read your DC fics. The first one (Good Friends?, wasn't it?), I'm not done with, but the second one was very good. :3 Thanks so much for the reviewing support. xP If it weren't for your reviews, I would have let this story just.. die. o.o

Oji-san: Isn't that Uncle? Or is uncle Ojii-san? I can't remember.


	6. Kogoro has an answer!

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan, but I do own the two characters Kari and Conan Kudo. Mathew isn't a character I invented either-he's another writer whom I respect and thank for reviewing.  
Thank you for reviewing, Mathew, and if you don't like the character, just say the word, and I'll take him out.

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Eri quickly regained her posture and looked at Ran and Shinichi with cool and piercing eyes. Shinichi always was scared of those eyes.. Eri went back to put the frying pan in the sink and came back a few moments later. She looked at her daughter, son-in-law, and husband all sitting there quietly, sulking or thinking. Or in Ran's case, just trying her best to hold onto reality and be strong. Eri whacked Shinichi and Kogoro on their heads. 

"Stop moping," she commanded, "you'll never find Kari and Conan that way. Think clearly. Where could they be? Who did you have information against? What was the evidence? What was the case? Shinichi, you're in charge of it, you should know."

Shinichi looked up at Eri, and then stood up. "They would be somewhere inconspicuious. The case is against a previous, small-town American city mayor named Kemro Maloney. After his time was up, he ran again, but lost, mostly due to recent suspicions of embezzlement and bribery, to Brittany Peterson. After being charged, he was released on lack of convincing evidence. From there, he came to Japan and became well-known in the underground. Even the Syndicate knew about him."

"Oh, right, the Syndicate.. I've read about the recent capture of their leader in the paper," Kogoro said. Shinichi and Ran haven't told him yet.

"But that is only the most basic of information," Shinichi said to Kogoro seriously. "As I was saying," Shinichi went on, ignoring the shocked look on Kogoro's face, "Kemro became well-known in the underground and can be compared to Professor Moriarty."

".. Who?"

"Holmes' rival. Holmes was convinced that he was the center of all crime and compared him to a spider in the middle of a web. He had many lackeys, and even after his death at Rienbach falls, his lackeys were determined to get to Holmes."

"Shinichi.. This isn't the time to be talking about Holmes," Ran started. Shinichi looked at her and gave a faint smile.

"Yes, it actually is this time. Don't you see? They're using our kids to get to me, similar Moriarty's lackeys... Only.. I'm not a bachelor who's good at molding. And I have two kids.. Kogoro.. I need your help. In fact, I need to track town Heiji and Mathew and get their help as well.. Heiji, I'm assuming, is still in Osaka. I haven't had much time to see him lately. Mathew, on the other hand.."

"Ah.. He gave me his number before he left back to America," Ran offered.

"Alright, I'll give him a call and see if he's home, or if I have to look him up in some kind of phone book. Thanks, Ran. So, what do you say, old man? I know you hate me, but they're your grandkids."

Kogoro looked at Shinichi silently. After a few moments, he declared that he would help. Shinichi and Ran already were on their way out the door. Shinichi turned around. "Kogoro.. I don't know how I could ever thank you for this." Kogoro nodded as they left. He looked at Eri, who sat down next to Kogoro. They sat for awhile in the silence.

Finally, Kogoro looked over and saw her silently crying. He put a hand on hers and she looked up at him. She smiled a sad smile and said, "You can find them. Behind those booze-addicted, yoko-obsessed eyes, you're a much better detective than anyone thinks." Kogoro looked suprised and hugged her. Progress. "_I can only hope this will all work out fine_," he thought to himself. "_I'll find them.. If not for anyone else, for Eri._"

Meanwhile..

Shinichi dialed the number Ran handed to her. "Hello, is there a Mathew there," he asked in his best American language.

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A/N: Eh, this is a pretty short chapter. xP I'm getting them up there bit by bit. I decided that I like ending chapters with something like this. I thought I was going to actually put Mathew _in_ in this chapter, but apparently, all I've had Shinichi do is make the call. x.x  
Ah well. At least that idea cured my writer's block. :D YAY!

Anyhoo.. I tried my best to keep the characters.. Well.. In character. You never seem to see Eri cry, but I thought "_Hey, that'd be a neat idea. It would show that Eri trusts Kogoro_." Besides.. She's human, right? Her grandkids have been kidnapped. What else is she supposed to do?

Oh, and I'm reading _The Killing Hour_ by Lisa Gardner. Aren't titles supposed to be italicized? I dunno. xP Ah well.  
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	7. The Phone Calls

Disclaimer: Still don't own Detective Conan or Mathew. But I still do own Kari and Conan Kudo.

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"Hello?" Shinichi heard a sleepy voice on the other line. Oh, right. Time differences. He had forgotten about that. "Hey, Mathew, it's Kudo and Ran. Got a moment?"

Back in America, Mathew looked at his clock. 3:30 am. "..."  
"Mathew?"  
"Yeah, I'm awake anyways. Might as well hear this out." He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up. As Shinichi explained the story on one side of the phone call, Mathew's eyes went up. He got a piece of paper and a pen by his bedside and jotted down some notes. "Are you kidding me, Kudo," he asked when Shinichi finished.  
"You don't know how much I wish I was," Shinichi replied.  
".. Alright, I'll be over on the next plane trip-"  
"Okay, and thanks a million. I'll send you the e-ticket after I get it," Shinchi said. Before Mathew could argue, he hung up.

Shinichi looked at Ran. She looked concerned. "He's coming," Shinichi said. "Let's go home for awhile. We need to get the e-ticket for Mathew and I need to get in contact with Hattori." Ran nodded. "22:30... It's only been 30 minutes? It feels like 3 hours already," Shinichi commented. Ran nodded and followed him home.

Upon arrival, Shinichi promptly got the e-ticket, emailed it to Mathew and grabbed a list of old contacts. He dialed Heiji's number. Heiji picked up on the third ring with a "What do you want?"

Shinichi blinked and then responded with, "Heiji, it's Kudo."

"Wha--? Kudo? What.. Why... ... Huh? Kudo, I finally got to sleep and here you go, callin' me!"

"I'm sorry, but it's an emergency," Shinichi said, trying not to sound too urgent.

"Oh, so it's a case," Heiji said with interest.

".. Kind of. You know my kids?"

"Yeah, the you clone and the Ran clone, right?"

"... Yeah. They were kinda... kidnapped."

"What?"

So, for the third time that night, Shinichi explained the story. When he was done, he was met with silence on the other end. "Heiji?"  
"Hang on, it's processin'."  
"Okay."  
"... I'm on my way, Kudo." Just as Heiji said this, Shinichi heard a sound in the background.

"Heiji..? Heiji, who are you talking to?" It was a just-woken up Kazhuaa.  
"Shinichi. Hey, listen, I'll be back later on, okay? Something big's up." The sound of muffled argument. Heiji must have covered the mouthpiece. When Heiji came back on, he sighed.  
"Kazhuaa's coming too, okay?"

Shinichi nodded, even though Heiji wasn't psychic and couldn't see him. "Yeah. We'll probably need all the help we can get. Thanks."

* * *

A/N: Okay, more involvement with characters. Progress. Yay! Eventually, the storyline will get actually interesting. x.x sorry, guys, but I just need Shinichi to enlist everyone's help. In fact, I'm thinking of switching back to Kari's viewpoint and seeing KID. Hm.. It's a processing thought. What do you all think?

Hope you enjoyed!

(by the way, finished _The Killing Hour_)


	8. Conan and Kari step one

Disclaimer - Copyrights are still a long ways away from myself. Well, other than the two OC's. I own them. Thanks to Mat49324 again for both letting me use his character and reviewing!  
Thanks to Animefangirl2007 for reviewing!  
:3 I'm glad you both liked it.

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Kari sighed and sat back. She had given up trying to work it with her fingers. After about three minutes, her fingers hurt. After ten, they had grown numb and started to bleed. Her fingernails were, after all, short. Conan sat limply, having almost no energy left to cry again. "We're not gonna get out of here," he said quietly and sadly. Kari had to find something else to work with. After all, of all the missing peoples cases and kidnapped people, how many of them actually came back alive? It was a scary concept. 

"Don't worry," she assured her brother, "We'll get out." She felt him nod behind her back. They both sat in silence, Kari racking her brain for ideas and Conan limply sitting there, wishing he had told his parents he loved them more often, and wishing he and his sister were free from this home-away-from-home hell.  
"Conan?" Kari's voice brought him back to reality.  
"Hn?"  
"Can you stand?"  
"No. If I try to stand, you won't be able to."  
"How about this, if we push our backs against each other with about equal force, we can stand up."  
"I can try."  
"On the count of three. One... Two.. Three!"

Conan and Kari pushed. They were about the same weight, and that definitely helped. They were on their feet within two minutes. Kari smiled. Now, to try to reach the burnt-out lightbulbs. This would be much.. Much trickier. That's why two heads were better than one. "Conan, we need to reach the light bulb."  
"What?!"  
Kari winced against the sound of his voice. She didn't want the man to come back up again. If they were lucky, he had gone to get the newspaper and a cup of coffee, or whatever it was kidnappers did, other than demand some kind of exchange for the kidnappees. Nothing. For the first time in what felt like days, lady luck was on their side. Now, to push it and see how long her temper would hold at bay.

"Conan, we have to be more careful," Kari whispered, afraid for the man coming back. "Sorry," Conan said quieter this time.  
"But how are we going to get up that high," Conan voiced.  
".. I don't know." Standing was the first step. She didn't know the second and possibly third steps. Assuming they lived long enough to get to a second or third step. "Conan," she asked after a few moments.  
"Yeah?"  
"You get home before me. Do you have a belt on?"  
"Yeah, why?"  
"I have an idea," Kari said, while kicking her shoe off. It paid to have feet like a monkey.

* * *

Author's note: I feel like I've abandoned Kari and Conan. I was drawing character profiles for them in American History. I wanted Conan to be older now, but it's too late to change it. :/ Aw.. Maybe I'll have other fics with them. What'cha'll think?  
In the other news department... I have an excuse as to why I haven't been updating my fic. And this one's actually a good excuse! I've had testing coming up, as well as homework. Well, I still have testing coming up, but that's besides the point. Earlier, I had a book report due, a "short" 5-page essay on one short story, a 7-page comic book, and a chemistry quarter test. x.x Needless to say, right now, I look like hell personally gave me a visit, and then came back with a mallet just for shits and giggles.  
:3 Well, hope ya'll enjoyed! Reviews greatly appreciated! 


	9. Divide and Conquer

Disclaimer - I still don't own the characters of Detective Conan. Hm... On with the fic..?

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Shinichi and Ran welcomed Heiji and Kazuhaa back to Tokyo. Well, more along the lines of Ran welcomed them. Shinichi was on the phone with Mathew to make sure he got on the right plane at the right time. Heiji looked tired and Kazuhaa looked concerned for Ran. She walked over to Ran and Shinichi. "Are you two alright," she asked, concerned that they might wind up going crazy. Who knows? At this rate, they certainly expected to be going crazy anytime soon. Shinichi tried not to think about the fact that it was his kids who had been kidnapped. "Mathew is boarding the plane right now," Shinichi confirmed as he hung up the phone. "He should get here tommorow." 

That was Shinichi's way to deal with this situation. Make it as impersonal as possible. _Work, work work, don't stop or you'll remember that it's your kids and you just might go crazy_. Shinichi had access to a gun, the knowledge of making a homicide appear as an accident, and quite frankly, that made him the most dangerous man to snap. The sideways thought of it scared the living shit out of him. _Keep working, don't stop. Don't rest. Don't give yourself time to remember._ Shinichi worked kidnappings. Kari even helped him at times. She knew as well as he did how many of the kidnappees survived.

Hopefully his kids would be able to think. They were brilliant in his opinion, and at the moment, their fate was in their own hands. Mommy and daddy aren't as omnipotent as most children think. _Keep working!_ The voice inside his head screamed. Ah, the first sign of insanity. Voices. Goody goody, he was going crazy.

"Heiji, come with me to the scene, see if you can make anything out of it. Ran, Kazuhaa, I want you both to stick together and start asking around about if anyone's seen our kids within the past three hours with anyone other than us. Look at the map and find somewhere that would be inconspicuous, but isolated. If anyone other than your partner comes up to you, be on guard. You never know what this man is thinking. Keep your phones on. Have the other three on speed dial. Have the police on speed dial. Any questions?"

Ran knew what Shinichi was doing. Trying to keep it as impersonal as possible. He would break down later. No one knew him better than she did. But she also knew that his mind was in full logic mode, and trusted him. "Come on," she said to Kazuhaa, "let's go."

After they split up, Heiji looked at Shinichi. "Hey, Kudo," he said, "are you sure you're going to be alright?"  
Shinichi had waited for the women to leave before he looked haggard. He couldn't let Ran see him like this. "I don't know. Heiji, I've worked plenty of homicides by now, I know how to kill a man and get away with it. I have access to all the weapons in the book. Quite frankly, I'm afraid of myself."

Heiji was silent for a few moments and then put a hand on Shinichi's shoulder. "Then it's a good thing I'm a helluva lot better than ya at kendo, ne Kudo-kun?" He held up a wooden sword to Shinichi's eyes, showing him that he always liked to be prepared. Shinichi grinned at him. "Yeah. Now, let's go to the scene."

_Meanwhile.._

Kazuhaa was suprised. Ran was holding up pretty well, seeing as these were her kids that were kidnapped. If they were Kazuhaa's, on the other hand...

Kazuhaa shook her head. Ran pulled out a map of Tokyo city. "Let's start in Tokyo, okay? The perpetrator couldn't have gotten very far with two kids, could he?"  
"Nope," Kazuhaa said, shaking her head.

Ran took out a marker and put a small X on an area where her and Shinichi's house would be located. "This is where we were," she said. "Then the bomb went off, you were knocked unconscious, and Kari and Conan were taken," Kazhuaa filled in. Ran nodded.  
"Right."  
"So now," Kazuhaa said, "we need to look for secluded areas nearby that are inconspicuous."  
"Possibly conspicuous," Ran said.  
"Huh?"  
"Shinichi still talks about Holmes all the time. A quote Shinichi told me once was something along the lines of 'The best place to hide something is the place right in front of you.' Meaning, he knows we're going to be looking for someplace inconspicuous, so he would have chosen the opposite."

"Oh right," Kazhuaa said. Heiji talked more about Poirot than Holmes, and she had more quotes from Agatha Christie's stories than she wanted to know.

"How about here," Kazhuaa pointed about three streets down. Ran nodded and circled it. After about half an hour to an hour, they had eight places circled.

"We have to get these checked out," Ran said. Kazuhaa nodded in agreement and flipped her phone open. Time to see how the boys were doing.

* * *

Author's note: In trying to keep the characters in character, I think I screwed up in a few places. :/ I'm not as familiar with Kazuhaa's character as I am Ran's. I'm mostly concerned about how I portrayed Heiji and Kazuhaa here. How do you think I did? 

And yes, I'm still alive. Barely. xx I don't think I did so well in Social studies... D: I may have failed that part of the GEE (Graduate Exit Exam)  
Ah well. Hn.. Well, I updated. :3 Huzzah for updates!

So please Read and Review!


	10. The Gathering

**_Reviews_**

Animefangirl2007: Awsome hope you update soon!!  
PS. hope you pass social studies  
me:3 Thanks and updating now:D And thanks for again for hoping I pass. :3

Mat49324: Like the chapter a lot. I sure hope you update this soon. How many chapters did you plan this story to be?  
--Mathew  
me: Thanks. :3 I have no clue how many chapters I plan this to be. In fact, I don't even know the ending in detail. :/ I just know what basically is going to happen. D: I'm such a bad writer

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**_Disclaimer_**: The only characters owned by me are Kari and Conan. Mathew belongs to Mat49324, and (Shinichi, Ran, Heiji, Kazuhaa, etc. etc.) belong to Gosho Aoyama

* * *

The call never went through to Shinichi's phone. Well, it did.. He just didn't answer it. Ran looked concerned and tried again. Kazuhaa dialed Heiji's phone, but it didn't pick up either. They tried three times before giving up. Ran looked at Kazuhaa, obviously very worried. "Maybe we should go to our house..." Ran trailed off in thought. 

Kazuhaa shook her head. "We can't do that, Ran. Someone might be waiting for us to do so.. What about your dad?"

Ran's face brightened. "That's right, dad said he'd help!" They ran over to Kogoro and Eri's house and knocked on the door until Kogoro answered it.

..._Meanwhile_...

"Shinichi, what if Ran and Kazuhaa try to call?"

"It can't be helped. They'll go to Kogoro and Eri."

"Aren't you the one who said to leave your phones on?"

"Well, we have to pick Mathew up, and it clearly says, no cell phones allowed in waiting area."

"... Since when did they have that rule?"

"Details, details..."

Shinichi and Heiji stood in the waiting area for the flight from America to come in. The new rule had been to turn the cell phones off. '_This way, you wouldn't disturb the homeless,_' Heiji thought, annoyed. Shinichi was obviously out of it. Or he was thinking more about the actual case than his wife. Shinichi sat still as stone in a waiting recliner chair..'_Too good for cell phones, but not above reclining relaxation,_' Heiji thought again.. His fingertips were touching and right in front of his face, while he leaned back looking half asleep, and his elbows rested on the.. elbow resters.

'_He is thinking about the case_,' Heiji thought. He had read a few Holmes stories, and that was how Watson described Holmes at times when he was thinking or letting his client tell the story. Heiji still preferred Agatha Christie's Poiriot, though. Shinichi really was the 21st century Sherlock Holmes, even down to his attitude regarding cases. Finally, the dinger went off, announcing that the flight had just arrived. Shinichi stood up and waited with a grim face as the passengers started to get off. Mathew was the third one. Shinichi had gotten him first class.

Mathew waved as he got nearer. Heiji and Shinichi waved in return. When they got his bags, he looked at Heiji with a confused expression. "Excuse me," Shinichi said, "I don't think you've met Heiji."

"How are ya?" Heiji stuck out a hand.

"Better than some, worse than others," Mathew replied, shaking it.

Now that the formalities were over with, they exited the building and got back in the vehicle they arrived in. Shinichi turned on his phone and punched in the sim code. He had four missed calls, and they were all from Ran. He looked at Heiji turning on his phone and dialing the numbers. "Four missed calls?"

"Yep. From Kazuhaa."

Shinichi looked back at Mathew and then to Heiji. He started to explain.

_...x...x...x...x...x...x..._

"Ran, are you okay?" Eri asked, sitting her and kazuhaa down.

"Kogoro, go get them some water," she commanded.

"Yes," he said, and went off to get some. Eri looked back at them.

"Now, tell me what happened."

The girls explained what had happened, down to the running to Kogoro and Eri's detective agency and knocking on the door. Eri looked concerned. Kogoro came back with the glasses of water, and gave those to Ran and Kazuhaa. She looked at Kogoro, who had been listening from the kitchen. His face turned angry.

"How dare that Shinichi bastard! Not keeping his promise-"

"Kogoro, something might have happened to him."

"Oh, right.." Kogoro was always looking for an excuse to hate Shinichi more. The top one on his list was taking away his daughter. Right after that was taking away his cases. Kogoro shook his head again. He had to clear his thoughts and help his kid.. and.. her husband.. thing. Just as Eri was about to say something, Ran's cell phone vibrated. Without even looking at who it was, Ran answered the phone.

"Shinichi?"

"Hey, Ran, I'm-"

"SHINICHI!"

"Sorry. I wasn't-"

"You better be sorry! You and Heiji had Kazuhaa, Dad, Mom, and me all worried sick about you two!"

"thinking-"

"Of course you weren't thinking! How could you have been, turning your phone off like that?!"

"But we were-"

"You better have a damn good excuse, Shinichi!" Tears were forming in Ran's eyes. She was thankful he was safe, but the fact that he had turned his cell phone off. The nerve of that guy!

"-picking up Mathew from-"

"What?" Ran stopped her ranting. She looked at her watch. Quite a bit of time had passed.. But still, weren't planes from america supposed to arrive.. later? She sat down, still holding the phone to her ear. Mathew came on the phone.

"Hey, Ran. You're not going to yell at me as well, I hope?"

"Of course not. After all, you came all the way here just to help us." She smiled.

"Ah, good. Hey, I'm handing the phone back to Shinichi, but I'll see you in a few minutes, so all's good." Ran nodded, despite the fact that he couldn't see her. "Okay," she said, and Shinichi came back on the phone.

"Okay, Ran, I see uncle's detective agency. We'll be there in just a few seconds."

_...x...x...x...x...x...x..._

Shinichi hung up the phone. Heiji looked at him. "Ran must be pissed. Even I could hear her," he commented.

"Just wait until you meet up with **_your_** wife," was all Shinichi had to say in return.

When they arrived and got out, introductions were made, and heads were literally banged together, courtesy of Ran and Kazuhaa. In midst of all the celebrations, reuniting, bandaids, and momentarily forgotten kids, one phone rang. Shinichi held it up and answered. "Hello, Detective Kudo here."

"You haven't met my demands," the distorted voice said.

* * *

Author's note: Ah, finally. I think this is probably my longest chapter. I've been working on it for who-knows-how-long. So, now, everyone's together. They have a few spots to meet, one new clue that just happened in this chapter (Can you guess what it is?), and the UNSUB finally made contact. Although, I've just come to realize... Did the UNSUB actually leave any demands? 

Ah, the plot holes will be filled in in the next chapter, I suppose. (Remember, even I don't know how this is going to turn out. o.O") So, hope ya'll enjoyed, still don't know the GEE results, and please review!  
:3


	11. Proof of Life

**Reviews**:

Mat49324: Great chapter. You bet I liked it. I'm glad to see that I finally arrived. Glad you updated, and thanks for sending me your part of chapter 3 of our joint story. I'll probably put in one more part from me, and see what you think.  
--Mathew  
my reply:3 thanks. xx Sorry, I know your character just arrived, but I'm switching back to Kari and Conan for this one. Aaand you're welcome. :3 Just finished with my part again.

Animefangirl2007: This chapter took to long but it was worth the wait! I wonder what will happen to kari and conan! And awsome chapter!  
my reply:D Thanks! I'm hoping this one doesn't take so long to write. xx Quite frankly, I'm still used to writing very short chapters. And you will get to see what happens to them now! Xutam!

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Disclaimer: Kari, Conan, plot, and masked bad guybelong to me.  
Mathewbelong to mat49324  
Everyone elseBelong to Gosho Aoyama. Last time I checked, anyways. o.o

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"You want proof of life? You can only talk to one of them." The man eyed Conan and Kari. Kari was glaring back at him, trying to say something, but the duct tape was preventing her from making any comeback or argument. It did have three syllables, though. The man could think of a few phrases with three syllables she might be using. 

Kari stopped her futile shouting and instead tried to lick the duct tape off. Bleagh. Good thing they had only stood up before the man came up. He might have caught them trying to get to the glass. He had put duct tape over their mouths and drugged them to fall asleep before taking them somewhere new. She woke up to find him dialing a number. She licked her lips again, moving them around, trying to get the duct tape off.

"Whoever said you got to choose?" The man said angrily. His voice was distorted. No doubt that his mask came with a voice distortion device. He looked over at Conan and ripped the tape off his mouth. "Ow!"

"Suck it up, kid. Here's your dad." The man held the phone up to Conan's ear. Kari could faintly hear her dad. "Conan? Conan? Are you okay? How are you Kari?"

"Dad, help us!" The man pulled the phone away before he could say more and put new duct tape on his mouth.

"Now, in case you haven't caught my drift, _Ace detective_, allow me to tell you what I want you to do. Don't show up in court. Don't try against our boss. Drop the case and burn the evidence. I want you to record you burning it, with close ups of the evidence, so I know that it's it. Not only that, but I want fifty thousand, just for compensation. After the evidence is burned, put the tape in locker number 82 in the building that's going to be town down in two days." He hung up immediately after saying that.

Kari could feel the man's glare from under the mask as he drugged them again. The last thing Kari saw was the man untying them. The last thing she felt was the duct tape being ripped off.

When Kari woke up, she was in the same room, tied again to Conan. He was still asleep. She would have to wait until he woke up to get back to getting that glass. In the meantime, she looked around the room for anything she might have missed. The window was shut, but not with glass. It looked more like it was metal. How could no one notice that? Oh, wait, what if the windows were nailed up on the outside...?

"Ungh..."

"Conan?"

"Just five more minutes, mom..."

"Okay, then, maybe I should just tell your friends you're not feeling well," Kari said in mock imitation of their mother.

"Ah-! Oh." Conan's eyes came awake with a jerk and he looked around panicked, and then upon realizing where he was, let his head fall in dissappointment. Kari looked over at her shoulder at her little brother's slouching and downcast head. She could feel how broken he felt. After all, he was only a kid. Well, her too, but she wanted to be a detective. Conan... Conan just wanted to live life and enjoy it with his friends. "Hey, cheer up, will ya? We'll get out of here," Kari said with a faint smile.

"Yeah? How?" Conan didn't believe her.

"Dad will rescue us."

"Are you kidding? He may be a great detective, but he cares more that another syndicate bites the dust than if his two kids die-"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Kari shouted, "Dad does care for us! And even if he won't get you out of here, hell, I will!"

"Yeah? What can you do?" What was with this? Conan was normally the optimist. Was he finally seeing the plight they were in? No more farytale escapes, no flying thieves to save them, nothing.

"I can do something you obviously can't." Kari said vehemently.

"I can try."

Now it was Conan's turn to look at his sibling. Kari was normally the realist-the pessimist. She tried to get up. Conan pushed against her back and they both got up. "Now," Kari said, "what about that belt? Is it dad's old belt?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's try to get a soccer ball to come on out. Let's go over to the doorknob. If we stand just right, we should get it as to where the button will be pushed and a soccer ball will come out."

"Okay."

They crab-walked and backwalked towards the door. Working together was proving to be more difficult than Kari first thought. After about thirty minutes' of this would-be amusing scuttling, they finally made a soccer ball come out. Kari bounced the soccerball on her head and shut her eyes. "Conan, when I say 'three,' jump, okay?"

"Okay."

"One.. two.. THREE!" Both of them jumped and Kari hit the soccer ball as hard as she could with her head into the light, causing the glass to shatter.

"Hurry!" Kari said urgently, forcing them both to sit down. She immediately grabbed a shard of glass and sawed as hard as she could at the rope. She could hear the man running up the stairs, shouting. He would be here in less than ten seconds. '_Hurry, hurry_,' she thought. The rope finally snapped and the door burst open.

* * *

Author's note: Okay, well, that's all for this chapter. Sorry it took so long. A combination of illness, school, video games, and just plain laziness was why this took awhile.

Check out the joint fic Mat49324 and I are doing on his fic page. It's called A Chance of a Lifetime. :3 Well, thanks everyone for reviewing again:3 Stay safe, and see ya later!


	12. Funeralistic memory and Shinichi's house

Disclaimer: You know what, if you haven't read the disclaimer yet, why would you start now?

* * *

Shinichi looked at the phone. His only contact with one of his kids.. '_I'll rescue you two,_' he said, finally closing it and looking up with a new look of hatred and determination. He was determined to get the both of them back, safe and sound. At most, a headache. 

"You okay?" Heiji looked at Shinichi.

"Two days, Heiji. Two days to put this bastard behind bars." Shinichi gave a cocky, determined grin. "But two days should be more than enough."

Heiji returned Shinichi's grin with an egotistical one of his own. "Yeah. You win, you get to pick the next place we visit, and we pay. I win, you pay for the vacation I pick."

Shinichi looked back at his wife and friends, confident once more.

"It's been a long time, Mathew," Ran said, giving him a hug.

"For sure. How have you been," he asked, returning the hug.

"Usually, good. Lately, holding on."

"Well, we're gonna find those two. With all three of us, we could probably get it done in three hours."

Ran smiled at him. "Thanks. How have things been back in Hawaii?"

"Oh, very good. I've got a beautiful wife, a dream house, and my dream job."

"Wow, that does sound very good. We'll have to come visit."

"Sounds like a plan," Mathew said, "but first things first."

"Yeah," Ran said with a smile. "Conan and Kari are coming back home."

Shinichi and Heiji came jogging back over to Ran, Kazuhaa, Mathew, Kogoro, and Eri. They all looked at Shinichi, who had that confident gleam back in his eyes. "We've got two days to burn evidence and possibly get our kids back, or definitely get our kids back, put another syndicate down, and get another kidnapper landed in jail. Which will it be?"

"You know where Conan and Kari are," Ran asked hopefully.

"Not definitely.. But we should find them soon now. Did you and Kazuhaa get those maps looked at?" Ran and Kazuhaa looked at each other and smiled. They both ran inside and came back with five maps, three of each region of Tokyo, one of Kawasaki, and one of Kyoto. Just in case. Shinichi took the map of the Kanto region (quick A/N: this place doesn't just exist in the pokemon games. Eet's real:O), which is where their house was.

"Let's check out this place first," Shinichi said, pointing to an unmarked spot on the map.

'_Did he have us circle those places just to give us something to do,_' Ran thought to herself. They all piled back in the car and drove off to the street Shinichi had just pointed out. While Heiji drove, Shinichi pointed to the street, talking to Ran and Kazuhaa.

"Sorry, you two. I didn't have you do that just to get you out of my way or something. I just figured this place was closer, there's an abandoned building that's supposed to be torn down in two days close by, and that street has several boarded up places. No one would notice if anyone inhabited a few of those places. Heiji, do you have a gun?" Heiji looked at Shinichi like he had just gone off the deep end.

"No, I don't. You need a license to carry one."

"Oh. I thought you would have one."

"I do, but-"

"You didn't bring it?"

"Oh, by all means, Kudo, everyone just happens to roll out of bed in an emergency call and remembers to bring a gun."

"Sorry. Mathew, do you-wait, stupid question. They don't allow guns on planes. In that case, we need to drop by my old house on Beika street."

"You still own that thing," Mathew asked from the back.

"Yes. Yes I do. And there are a few spare guns." Heiji started to say something, but Shinichi read his mind and cut in, "my dad used to take me to Hawaii to practice shooting. That's also where I learned to drive a boat."

"Hey, Kudo, you wouldn't happen to carry a sword or nothin' in there, would ya?"

"Possibly. Why?"

"Nah, I'm just more comfortable with swords than guns."

"I'll check, then." The remainder of the ride to Shinichi's old home was quiet. Ran looked out the window, watching the old houses. They came to a stop at Shinichi's house, where they all got out. Shinichi bowed his head a moment after looking at Doctor Agasa's home, and then hurried inside. He didn't even have to look for the guns. He grabbed two from his dad's old desk, and looked around for a sword. There was one on a mantelpiece, but it was used for decoration.

"Shinichi, you ready yet," Mathew called from outside. Oh well. Heiji would get a gun as well, just in case. He grabbed it and trotted back outside, where he carefully handed a gun to Mathew, and a gun and the sword to Heiji. They got back in the car, and proceeded to their next destination silently. Shinichi looked back at Doctor Agasa's retreating house, where Haibara now resided.

"Shinichi," Ran said, noticing him looking back. She remembered the funeral.

_..x...x...x...x...x...flashback...x...x...x...x...x.._

Shinichi looked in the casket at Doctor Agasa's face. He put the recorder pen in the casket when he thought no one was looking. Ran saw, though. Shinichi turned around and walked off, his face like it normally was when he was working a few cases. Serious and stoic. '_Of course,_' Ran thought, '_he's used to seeing death. He told me so himself._'

As soon as the eulogy ended, Shinichi excused himself and went in the back, where the restrooms were, and usually, where no one bothered to go. Ran followed him a few moments later, after tearing herself away from a sobbing Mitsuhiko. She had cried many tears as well. When she got there, Shinichi was facing a wall, and his shoulders were shaking. Ran touched his shoulder, and he sharply turned around, alarmed. His face softened when he saw it was her.

"Shinichi," she said. He leaned down and buried his head in her shoulder. Ran could feel his tears on her black shirt, and she hugged him. "It's okay, Shinichi.. I know how you feel. We all feel it." He wrapped his arms around her and continued to cry. It was probably the first, and last, time she had ever seen him cry.

_..x...x...x...x...x...end flashback...x...x...x...x...x.._

Shinichi now looked back foward, that gleam back in his eyes again. They neared the street he had pointed out, and Heiji slowed down and locked the doors. This was definitely not the part of town you wanted to drive through at night. In fact, this was one of those parts that you went 90 mph over the speed limit just to get away from it at night.

Shinichi pointed to an average building with boarded up windows. "Try that one," he said. They stopped. "Heiji, you stay here with Kazuhaa and Ran. Mathew, let's go up."

"Hold on, Shinichi," Ran said in a dangerous tone of voice as Shinichi put his hand on the doorknob. "These are MY kids, too, and if they're in there, then like hell are you leaving me here." Before Shinichi could say anything, she got out of the car, and walked to Shinichi and Mathew's side, opening the doors for both of them. They got out, and Ran lead the way into the building.

Mathew smiled. "Just like my sister would have."

* * *

Author's note: Sweet Jesus on a pogo stick! I passed all my finals and classes! (French excluded) 8D On top of that, I have a summer job that probably pays more than it should pay a high school student. o.O" Sooo... I guess I'm good with that.

Anyways, I'm not sure if Mathew's sister would have really done that. I'm just assuming it. o. Don't hurt me please.

So, now that I've FINALLY finished up another chapter, you all can read, hopefully enjoy, and review:3 And don't forget to check out the joint fic up on Mat49324's profile, A Chance of a Lifetime.


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